FOUNDING
INFO:
Rest Ministries was established in 1997 and incorporated in
1998, as a 501[c](3); founded by Lisa Copen who has lived
with rheumatoid arthritis since the age of 24 (diagnosed in
1993). Lisa was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1998.

HOW WE
SERVE: Rest Ministries currently serves individual through 175
support groups called HopeKeepers, based within churches and
communities in 30 states. Approximately 2500 people receive
the Rest Ministries devotional via email every morning from
Rest Ministries. Additional programs/outreach include The Encouragement
Club, online communities such as Share & Prayer (men and
women with chronic illness), Just Men (Christian men with chronic
illness), Beyond Surviving Homeschooling, Splashes of Joy (women
with chronic illness & depression), message boards, Bible
study chats and much more.

SOURCE
OF SUPPORT: Rest Ministries does not charge for any services.
Resources, such as books and tapes are reasonably priced for
those on a limited income. Rest Ministries is supported by donations
and revenue from resource sales. They are currently seeking
grant funding and church support.

VOLUNTEERS:
Rest Ministries volunteers, nearly all of whom have at least
one chronic illness, donate over 2000 hours per month. To volunteer,
call 888-751-7378.

ABOUT OUR
NAME: Rest Ministries is based on the verse Matthew 11:28, "Come
to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

Fact
Sheet and Statistics
About Chronic Illness

Despite the fact that the majority of the US population looks
rather healthy, statistics show a different story. Nearly 1 in
2 people have a chronic condition. This could be an illness like
cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, or a condition such as arthritis,
migranes or back pain from a car accident.

When studies
are done about people with illnesses and disabilities, those who
deal with chronic pain on a regular basis, but have not yet been
diagnsed are often overlooked. We hope these chronic illess
and invisible illness facts will shed some light on
why we feel this week is valuable and worthy to inform others
about.

Nearly
1 in 2 Americans (133 million) has a chronic conditionChronic Care in America:
A 21st Century Challenge, a study of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation & Partnership for Solutions:
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD for the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation (September 2004 Update). "Chronic
Conditions: Making the Case for Ongoing Care".

By 2020,
about 157 million Americans will be afflicted by chronic illnesses,according to the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services.

That
number is projected to increase by more than one percent per
year by 2030, resulting in an estimated chronically ill population
of 171 million.Chronic
Care in America: A 21st Century Challenge, a study of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & Partnership
for Solutions: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD for
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (September 2004 Update).
"Chronic Conditions: Making the Case for Ongoing Care".

96%
of them live with an illness that is invisible. These people
do no use a cane or any assistive device and may look perfectly
healthy. 2002 US Census Bureau

Sixty
percent are between the ages of 18 and 64Chronic Care in America: A 21st Century
Challenge, a study of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

90%
of seniors have at least one chronic disease and 77% have
two or more chronic diseasesThe
Growing Burden of Chronic Disease in American, Public Heal
Reports / MayJune 2004 / Volume 119, Gerard Anderson,
PhD

9
million people are cancer survivors with various side effects
from treatmentAmerican Cancer Society

The
divorce rate among the chronically ill is over 75 percentNational Health Interview Survey

Depression
is 15-20% higher for the chronically ill than for the average
personRifkin, A. "Depression in Physically
Ill Patients," Postgraduate Medicine (9-92) 147-154.

Various
studies have reported that physical illness or uncontrollable
physical pain are major factors in up to 70% of suicides;Mackenzie TB, Popkin MK: "Suicide in
the medical patient.". Intl J Psych in Med 17:3-22, 1987

and
more than 50% of these suicidal patients were under 35 years
of ageMichalon M: La psychiatrie de consultation-liaison:
une etude prospective en milieu hospitalier general. Can J
Psychiatry (In French) 38:168-174,1993

About
one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder
in a given year;
Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE. Prevalence, severity,
and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National
Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R). Archives of General
Psychiatry, 2005 Jun;62(6):617-27.

and
more than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a
diagnosable mental disorderConwell
Y, Brent D. Suicide and aging I: patterns of psychiatric diagnosis.
International Psychogeriatrics, 1995; 7(2): 149-64.

Four
in five health care dollars (78%) are spent on behalf of people
with chronic conditionsThe
Growing Burden of Chronic Disease in American, Public Health
Reports, MayJune 2004 Volume 119 Gerard Anderson, PhD

Those
who use their religious faith to cope are significantly less
depressed, even when taking into account the severity of their
physical illness. In fact, the clinical effects of religious
coping showed the strongest benefit among those with severe
physical disability. Some 87 patients hospitalized with serious
illness who also then suffered depression were followed over
time in another study. The patients with a deep, internalized
faith recovered faster from the depression, even when their
physical condition wasn't improving.Kendler, K.S., Gardner, C. O., and Prescott,
C.A. "Religion, Psychopathology, and Substance Use and
Abuse: A Multimeasure, Genetic-Epidemiologic Study,"
American Journal of Psychiatry 1997; 154: 322-329. Koenig,
Harold G., Larson, David B., and Weaver, Andrew J. "Research
on Religion and Serious Mental Illness," in Spirituality
and Religion in Recovery from Mental Illness, ed., Roger Fallott.
New Directions for Mental Health Services 1998; (80).

Over 100 million people in the U.S. have a chronic illness; 20.6
percent of the population, about 54 million people, have some
level of disability; 9.9 percent or 26 million people had a severe
disability .1.8 million used a wheelchair .5.2 million
used a cane, crutches, or a walker (U.S. Department of Commerce,
1997, p. 1). So that is less than 6% who have a visible illness.

Notably, 26 million persons were considered to have a severe disability;
yet, only 7 million persons used a visible device for mobility.
Thus, 19 million of the people who were defined as severely disabled,
did not use a wheelchair, cane, crutches or walkers. In other
words, 73% of Americans with severe disabilities do not use such
devices. Therefore, a disability cannot be determined solely on
whether or not a person uses visible assistive equipment.

U.S. Department
of Commerce (1997). Census Bureau: Current Population Reports.
(Publication P70-61). Author: John McNeill

58%
of those who found the internet to be crucial or important during
a loved one’s recent health crisis say the single most important
source of information was something they found online.
* Pew
Internet and American Life

Globalhealthfacts.org
provides facts and figures about diseases pervading the world
population, including AIDS, malaria and TB. Get information and
stats broken down by disease or by region. Great information about
some of the most serious health conditions in the world today.

THURSDAY,
Oct. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Along with taboo topics such as politics
and religion, many Americans are reluctant to discuss managing
a chronic illness with family or friends, according to a new survey
of more than 1,000 adults.

The survey,
released Oct. 11, found that 82 percent of respondents said
they knew someone with a chronic illness, but only 34 percent
were likely to suggest ways for this person to better manage their
care. That's about the same number who said they'd debate
politics (37 percent) or religion (33 percent) with a loved one
or friend.

Respondents
were more likely to discourage friends or loved ones from buying
the wrong house (65 percent), loan them a large amount of money
(56 percent), advise them against taking a job they didn't think
was right for the person (48 percent), and tell them their spouse
was unfaithful (41 percent).

The survey
was released by Evercare, a provider of health plans for people
who have chronic illnesses, are older, or have disabilities.

The reasons
why many Americans are reluctant to offer advice to chronically-ill
friends or family include:

They
think the person has the situation under control (66 percent);
they are not a health care professional (31 percent)

they
don't want to seem like a nag (31 percent) or rude (29 percent)

they
don't believe the person would listen to them (27 percent)

they
didn't think the matter was that important (15 percent).

Other findings:

Twenty
percent of respondents said their spouse was the easiest person
to give advice to about health, followed by a child (20 percent),
mother (13 percent), and father (5 percent).

Most respondents said they'd prefer to receive advice about
managing a chronic illness from a health care professional (67
percent), followed by a spouse (10 percent) or parent (7 percent).
Men were twice as likely as women (14 percent versus 7 percent)
to have their spouse give them such advice.

Men have an easier time offering health advice to their spouse
(28 percent) than women (19 percent). Women have an easier time
offering health advice to their children (24 percent) than men
(16 percent).

Thirty-four percent of respondents said the person closest to
them with a chronic illness is a parent (34 percent), followed
by another relative (16 percent), spouse (14 percent), friend
(11 percent), sibling (8 percent), and child (6 percent).

Evercare offered tips on how to help family or friends with a
chronic illness:

Talk to
them in order to get an understanding of their goals. Get the
conversation started by discussing events or activities they
used to enjoy or future events they want to be part of, such
as a family reunion. Once you understand their goals, you can
help them achieve them along with health care providers, doctors
or community service agencies.

Appoint
an "ambassador" -- someone your friend or loved one
feels comfortable talking with and respects enough to heed his
or her advice. This person can help your friend or family member
manage their condition.

Increase
your comfort levels by educating yourself about the person's
chronic illness. This will make you feel more comfortable speaking
with them about the condition and reinforcing the advice the
patient has received from their doctors.

Other invisible illness resources of interest:

Chronic
Care in America: A 21st Century ChallengeRevised
in September 2004, it provides an overview of chronic health
conditions in the United States and the impact of these conditions
on individuals and their caregivers, as well as on the U.S.
health care system. 68 pages

To turn
off roller coaster volume move curor to the left on the bottom
right of the video. (bottom right)

National
Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week  is an official annual campaign
sponsored by Rest
Ministries
in collaboration with other sponsors. All information is Copyrighted, 2008,
however, copies can be made and freely distributed as designed for and intended
for advocacy partners for the purpose of representing National Invisible Chronic
Illness Awareness Week . If you have any questions, please email
us for clarification.